Foreword
In this 15th Issue of Lunaris Review, the writers take readers on a journey – to share in the appendages of grief; the subtleties of love, of longing for what was & the possibilities of dreams in the realist world.
In “Anatomy of Fire and Finding Solace,” Hassan Usman offers us a craft-talk on warmth & peopling:
If you want to know how to surround your home with plenty people without sending them an invitation — set up a fire
As if by divinity, Sandeep Kumar Mishra in his poem, “Body Orchard (Older Days)”, introduces us to an extended list of “people” whose company we may enjoy: “Fruit is for sharing, with friends, family and / neighbors even if your neighbors are bears or cows,” he writes. He extends an invitation to other creatures to join in the joy (& misery) of living, a reminder that the human is only human in the expansive presence of other creations. Sandeep’s poem is filled with snips of memories that transport me to my grandpa’s cottage at Nsuansa where I have also shared fruits with sheep, ducks, wild birds, and cousins.
Tshepiso Mabula in “Upward Mobility” offers us an intimate interrogation of grief & joy: “Side by side, two cow skins hung next to one another over the high wall, one for the sad family marking the loss of a matriarch and the other marking the joyful elation of a daughter who had found a husband man enough to marry her with cows.” Here, cows are not just “neighbors” as in Sandeep’s poem but an offering to “mark the occasion” of a matriarch’s loss.
Although this issue is un-themed, by some stroke of divine intervention, the stories run into each other in a seamless beaut. In this volume, Lunaris Review continues the work of offering a platform for new voices & yet maintaining their rich taste in literature. Like some of the writers in this issue, Lunaris Review offered me a platform when I set out on my journey to publishing – it is a story that moves from Drobo to Sunyani to Hohoe through virtual worlds to Cape Coast, where I also write from today.
To not bore you, reader, you’re welcome to Lunaris Review #15!
Henneh Kyereh Kwaku,
Cape Coast, Ghana.
